[Durham INC] FW: Legislative Update

[Pat Carstensen]

The legislature is back in town.  I am not planning on forwarding the legislative summaries I get to the list-serve, but thought folks might be interested this kind of thing is available.  The "much needed consumer protections" in the expected House bill on fracking may include protections about the selling off of the mineral rights of a property.
Regards, pat

Date: Fri, 18 May 2012 16:39:58 -0400
From: will.morgan at sierraclub.org
Subject: Legislative Update
To: NC-CONS-FORUM at LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG

Friends,
This week the North Carolina General Assembly officially began their 2012 session, and this email is the first of my weekly in-session emails updating you on what's happening in Raleigh.  These emails are designed to give you a recap of what's happened in the last week, and give you a preview of what to expect in the week ahead.  If you're receiving this email, we've got you on our list to receive updates on the legislature, but if you ever want to be removed from the list please just shoot me an email at any time and we'll take your name off the list.






A Limited Agenda
On Wednesday the North Carolina General Assembly convened for their biennial " short session".  In even numbered years like 2012, the legislature convenes in mid-May, and typically only stays for a few months.  In addition to the shorter time frame in even numbered years, there are limits on the legislation that can be considered in short sessions.  Generally during the short session the legislature can only consider the budget, any bills that passed at least one chamber in the previous session, or any bills that were recommended by an interim committee that met between sessions.  With those limitations in mind, we generally know what bills will be considered in the coming weeks.





Fracking
Undoubtedly the hottest environmental topic of the short session will be fracking.  Since the end of the last session, DENR released their final report on the potential environmental impacts of fracking in North Carolina (you can read the full 484 page report here).  Additionally a number of interim committees heard presentations on fracking, and one of those committees recommended legislation that was introduced as a bill this week.  Senate Bill 820, the "Clean Energy and Economic Security Act" was introduced by Senator Bob Rucho (R-Mecklenburg) on Thursday afternoon.  Among other things, the bill would legalize fracking in North Carolina, create a new Oil and Gas Board to create regulations for the industry, and severely limit the ability of local governments to control fracking within their jurisdictions.  You can read the full text of the bill here and a N&O story about the bill here.  While it has not been introduced yet, we are expecting another fracking bill to be introduced next week by a group of representatives in the House.  We expect the bill to be a much more cautious approach to fracking that would keep the practice illegal, provide a number of much needed consumer protections, and direct DENR to study some of the unanswered questions about the potential environmental impacts of legalizing fracking in North Carolina.  The senate bill will likely move through the senate quickly, with votes happening as soon as next week.  Please don't wait to contact your legislator and tell them to keep fracking illegal in North Carolina until we learn more about the environmental impacts. You can contact your legislator by clicking here.






Air Toxics
You may remember that in the last week of the 2011 session a bill was introduced that would have completely gutted the state's Air Toxics Program.  Thankfully we were able to defeat that bill, but the issue hasn't gone away.  Over the interim, the Environmental Review Commission took and in-depth look at the program, and has put forward legislation to modify the program.  We've been working very closely with the bill sponsor and DENR to ensure that the environment and public health won't be sacrificed if the program is modified, and thanks to those efforts the current version of the bill that was introduced this week is much more protective of the environment than previous versions of the bill.  You can read the text of the bill here.  While we're pleased with the progress this bill has made, we'll continue to monitor it very closely as it moves through the legislature to make sure that it isn't amended for the worse.  Stay tuned.




Regulatory Reform
You probably all remember the awful Regulatory Reform Act of 2011 that prevents North Carolina from creating any new environmental protections that are more protective than the bare minimum required by federal law.  Well yesterday senators introduced the Regulatory Reform Act of 2012.  Right now the bill contains a number of minor technical correction to the 2011 bill, as well a potentially troublesome change to the state's water pollution laws.  We'll be tracking this legislation closely and will keep you up to date on any changes.




Boards and Commissions
On Tuesday the Regulatory Reform Committee recommended leglsiation that would completely eliminate 50 state boards and commissions, including the Mountain Resources Commission, the Drought Management Advisory Council, the Sustainable Communities Task Force, and the Sustainable Local Food Advisory Council.  Additionaly, the bill would downsize another 40 boards and commissions, including the Environmental Management Commission, the Coastal Resources Commission, the Coastal Resources Advisory Council, and the Commission for Public Health.  The positions that are eliminated on thse boards and commission seem to target environmentally councious memberd of the boards.  For example for the Environmental Management Commission, the bill elimates the member with expertise in public health, the member with expertise in wildlife management, and four members with expertise and air and water pollution control.  We'll certainly be working make sure these experts remain on the EMC.


Until Next Time...
That's our update for this week.  If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact me at 919-833-8467 or will.morgan at sierraclub.org.  


Best,
Will
-- 
Will Morgan

Director of Government Relations
North Carolina Sierra Club 

112 South Blount Street
Raleigh, NC 27601
Office: 919-833-8467
Cell: 336-707-9019 
will.morgan at sierraclub.org







http://www.nc.sierraclub.org


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